St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1887-11-05

Nine hundred and ninety-nine men out
of thousand are living without any
great life plot. Booted, and spurred, and
plumed, and urging their swift courier
in the hottest haste. come out and ask
"Halloo, man, whittier away?" His re-
Spouse is "Nowhere" Rush into the busy
shop or store of many one, and taking the
plane out of the mans hand and laying
down the yard-stick say: What, man, is
all this about so much stir and sweat ?"
The reply will stumble and break down
between teeth and lips. Every day.
duty ought only to be the following up
of the main plan of existence. Let men
be consistent. If they prefer misdeeds
to correct courses of action, then let
them draw out the design of knavery,
and cruelty, and plumber. Let every day.
falsehood and wrong-doing be added as
coloring to the picture. Let bloody deeds
red stripe the canvas, and the clouds of a
wrathful God hang down heavily over
the canvas, ready to break out in clamor-
Gus tempest. Let the waters be chafed,
froth-tangle, and green with immeas-
urable depths. Then take torch of
burning pitch and scorch into the frame
of the picture the right name for it ;
namely, the Souls Suicide. If one enter
ing upon sinful directions would only in
his mind, or on paper, draw out in awful
reality this dreadful future, he would re-
coil from it, and say: Am Dante,
that by my own. life should write
another Inferno?" But if you are re-
solved to live life such as God and good
men will approve, do not let it be vague
dream, an indefinite determination,
but in your mind Or upon paper
IL l. - II
know the changes to which you may be
subject, but you may know what always
will be right and always will be wrong.
Let gentleness, and charity, and verac
ity, and faith stand in the heart of the
sketch On some still brooks bank
make lamb and lion lie down together,
Draw two or three of the trees of life,
not frost-stricken, nor ice-glazed, nor
wind-stripped, but with thick verdure
waving like the palms of Heaven. On the
darkest cloud place the rainbow, that
billow of the dying storm. You need not
burn the title on the frame. The dullest
will catch the design at a glance,
and say: That is the road to Heaven"
All, me! On this sea of life
what innumerable ships, heavilyladen
and we'll rugged, yet some bound for
another port Swept every whittier of
wind and wave, they go up by the
mountains, they 60 down by the pillows,
and are at their wits end. They sail by
no chart, they watch no star, they long
for no harbor. beg every young man
the grace of God, he means to be, though
reach it. He who starts out in life with
a n oh ofo oh foif iv,
attainment, will find himself incased
from thousand temptations.
There are magnificent possibilities
before each of you young men of the
stout heart, and the buoyant step, and
the bounding spirit. l would marshal
you for grand achievement. God now
provides for you the fleet, and the armor,
and the Notifications; who is on the
Lords side? The captain of the zouaves
in ancient times, to encourage them
against the immense odds on the side of
their enemies. said: Come, my men, look
these fellows in the face. They are six
thousand, you are three hundred. Surely
the match is even.' That speech gave
them the victory. Be not, my hearer,
dismayed at any time by what seems an
immense odds against you. Is fortune,
is want of education, are men, are devils
against you, though the multitudes of
earth and hell confront you, stand up to
the charge. With million against you,
the match is just even. Nay, you have
a decided advantage. If God be for us,
who can be against US? Thus protected,
you need not spend much time in an
swering your assailants.
Many years ago word came to me that
two impostors, as temperance lecturers,
had been speaking in Ohio in various
places, and giving their experience, and |
they told their audience that they had |
long been intimate with me, and had be-
come drunkards by dining at my table,
where l always had liquors of all sorts.
Indignant to the last degree, went down |
to Patrick Campbell, chief of Brook
lyn police, saying | was going
to start that nig ht for Ohio to
have these villains arrested, and l wanted |
him to tell me how to make the arrest. |
He smiled and said: do not waste your
time by chasing these men. Go home
and do your work, and they can do you
no harm" | took his counsel and all |
was well. Long ago made up my mind
that if one will put his trust in God and
be faithful to duty, he need not fear any
evil. Have God on your side, young
man, and all the combined forces of earth
and hell can do you no damage
And this leads me to say that the
of all defense for young man
is the possession of thorough religious
principle. Nothing can take the place
of it. He may have manners that would
put to shame the gracefulness and
courtesy of Lord Chesterfield. For
eign languages may drop from his
tongue. He may be able to discuss
and laws, and foreign Gus
toms. He may WELD pen of I'M
equaled power. His quickness and tact
may qualify him for the highest salary
of the counting house. He may be as
sharp as Herod and as strong as
Samson, with as fine locks as those
which hung Absalom, still he is not safe
from contamination The more elegant
his manner and the more fascinating his
dress, the more peril. Satan does not
care much for the allegiance of cow
ard and illiterate being. He can bring
him into efficient service But he loves
to storm that castle of character which
has in it the most spoils and treasures.
It was not some crazy craft creeping
along the coast with a valueless cargo
hat the pirate attacked, but the ship,
IN II win ped and f1aruad plvinU bntwaen